


That Which We Carry

by electriceell



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M, Mention of abuse, Post Season 3, Spoilers for 3x8
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-04-22 11:45:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4834124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electriceell/pseuds/electriceell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phryne's return to London stirs up unwanted memories for her and creates a hole in her little rag-tag family members' lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Phryne

**Author's Note:**

> Alright well, I managed to fail at AO3, tag someone else as a co-author, panic, and delete this. At that point I realized there was probably a more straightforward way to deal with this, but being socially awkward, I panicked about someone else thinking I was tagging them as a co-author. Cue eye roll.

It had been a trying last few months for Phryne, what with making a transcontinental flight with her ass of a father, delivering him to her old home in London, and trying to help her parents sort their financial woes. The voyage had felt endless, as if they would never make it. This wasn’t helped along by her eternally infuriating father’s tendency to wander whenever they stopped or the constant battle between the fear, anger, and love she felt for her father. It really did seem that he wanted to change his ways, but the endless catalog of memories of locked closets, hurtful words, and split lips made her wary and made her angry at herself for giving him this continued power over her. 

The journey had been trying, yes, but she had planned on that, had known the stress of the flight combined with the stress of her father’s presence would be straining. What Phryne hadn’t been prepared for were the ghosts that haunted her parents’ manor. 

Phryne had been excited to see her dear mother again, to try to help patch up the rift between her parents and deal with their current financial troubles, but we when she entered their house, a place she had once called home, she felt the weight of her past settle around her. 

“There is where I learned to hide when Father was on a drunken tear.”

“Over there is where Mother and I sat and cried on the anniversary of Janey’s disappearance, while father drank until he started calling me Janey.”

“And here in the foyer is where I told Father I’d be dead before I ever came back to this house and he hit me so hard I was sure my teeth would fall out.”

Her mother’s warm embrace and cheery greeting had dispelled the ghosts briefly, but when Phryne retired to her boudoir and left her parents alone to reconcile they returned to haunt her. Not just memories of things that had happened in this house, but the memories of the baggage she had brought into this house, memories she relived in this room: the memories of dead and dying men on the battle field, losing Janey, René. They clung to her skin making her feel endlessly unclean and they floated in the air and filled her lungs, making breathing almost impossible 

When she made her spur of the moment plan to fly to London she had always intended to remain in London for the season and return to the Antipodes by boat come fall, but a single night in her parent’s house made it clear that this would be unbearable. Despite how much she loved her mother, Phryne needed to leave the haunted halls of her parents home and return to Wardlow, which held some bad memories to be sure, but was vibrant with the life she was living, not the lives she had lived or lost. 

Just a week after arriving in London, Phryne packed her bags in preparation for her flight back to Australia, to her family, to her home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This write was very cathartic because my childhood home is rife with triggers due to an abuse parent. (If you've read my other, We Cross Our Bridges, you'll realize my life is very Phryne Fisher in the not so good ways.)


	2. Jack

Jack had been despondent since Phryne had left. Her absence haunted him at crime scenes, where he would hear the tell tale sounds of her heels on pavement just to realize his brain had made the sound from nowhere. While Jack spent many nights at Wardlow with Phryne’s family, enjoying Mr. B’s excellent cooking, Hugh and Mrs. Collins’ warm company, and even the red-raggers endless banter, he also spent many nights alone, with books as company. This had been the state of affairs in his life for so long, even before Rosie moved out, but Phryne had awoken him, brought joy and laughter and human companionship back into his life. Without her, he was profoundly lonely.

Throughout her great adventure to London, Phryne had only sent Jack short telegrams.

“ARRIVED IN CHINA STOP CONTINUING ON TOMORROW STOP”

And

“WANT TO MURDER FATHER STOP SAFELY IN TURKEY STOP”

When he finally received 

“HERE IN LONDON STOP MISS YOU TERRIBLY STOP”

he thought his heart would break for how much he missed and how glad she had arrived safely. He tried not to think about the endless suitors who were sure to be falling at her feet in London or of the many more ‘appropriate’ matches her parents probably wished for her. He tried not to think about these fictional men, but frequently, he failed and ended up getting angry at people who didn’t exist for having the privilege of being near Phryne, talking to her, laughing with her, touching her, maybe even making love to her. 

He had been following one of these darker trains of thought when he received another telegram, a mere week after the one telling of her arrival.

“CANNOT BE HERE ANYMORE STOP NEED TO BE HOME STOP LEAVING TOMORROW STOP WILL BE BACK SOON STOP”

Upon receiving this Jack almost cried in happiness. She needed to be home, needed to be with her rag-tag family, and, he hoped, with him.


	3. Mac

Mac was less than pleased to receive news of her best friend’s return by way of Detective Inspector Jack Robinson. She felt that Phryne at least owed her the courtesy of telling her when she was coming and going from Australia, thank you very much, but then again, Mac figured that the fact that Phryne had let Jack know first, not she or Dot, was a sign, possibly even a good one. 

They had known each other forever, Mac and Phryne; they had seen each other through a multitude of small and large traumas, like those of first boy and girl friends and first loves. Together they had built their armor up, two independent, defiant women ready to take on the world and take down any man stupid enough to get in their way. The war had taken its toll on them both; they had both been on the receiving end of the conveyor belt of dying soldiers. And Phryne’s life had gotten more complicated after the war, before her family could find her, before she was “The Honorable Miss Phryne Fisher.”

Mac shook herself from the memories of Phryne’s past, lost loves, and the war as the Inspector himself walked into the morgue briskly, barely concealing his smile.

“Miss Fisher has sent another telegram. She believes she will be back in Australia this evening and back to Melbourne by tomorrow.”

“Well thank God for that.” Mac sighed, “It’s gotten damn boring around here without her to stir up trouble. I suppose we should tell Dot and Mr. B and get a grand party set up. You know she would be disappointed if we did anything less,” she punctuated the last statement with an overdramatic eye roll Miss Fisher would approve of.

“Yes… Yes I suppose that would be what she wants.” Jack’s heart fell. While he had told Mac because she was Phryne’s friend and he felt she should know, he had been hoping to have Miss Fisher to himself, even if just for a bit. 

Mac could see the disappointment in his eyes. So he did plan to move this relationship forward. It was about damn time if you asked Mac; she was so tried of watching them pine after each other. It was sickening really. If she didn’t love Phryne so damn much and she didn’t think Jack was a good man and good match for Phryne in mind and in heart, she would never have tolerated their ridiculous courtship. 

“How about this, Inspector: I’ll go over and tell Dot, Mr. B and whoever else is at the house that Phryne will be returning tomorrow. We will plan the party and you can go fetch Phryne tomorrow at the airfield and bring her back to Wardlow for the party.”

Jack’s heart soared at this plan; he thoroughly approved of it. Attempting to stifle the rising glee Jack, keeping as straight a face as possible said, “That sounds like a reasonable plan Dr. MacMillan.” He tipped his hat. “Until tomorrow then.”

Mac found herself rolling her eyes again and grinning broadly. Like lovesick children, they were, but really she was happy. After everything life had thrust upon Phryne, she deserved this.


	4. Phryne

Her flight back to the Antipodes was somehow more intense than the flight there; it turned out that the ghosts from her past made for far worse travel companions than her father. Sometimes when she landed she saw René lurking around a corner waiting for her, she saw herself in the little girls flinching at the raised voices of the angry old men, but everywhere, everywhere she saw Janey, in her peripheral vision, flitting around corners and up alleys, always just out of reach. And then she would think of her Jane being drugged and carried off by Murdoch Foyle, Arthur being tricked and traumatized by the same man. He seemed to touch all things innocent in her life.

Throughout the trip Phryne only interacted with people based on necessity, talked little, slept less. Whenever she closed her eyes it was all there; she had relived every shouted insult and slap her father had bestowed upon her, she went back to the carnival and lost Janey every night, René dragged her from Sarcelle’s studio again and again. Phryne had tried to combat these with her normal remedies, good alcohol and men’s company. Unfortunately, the first was hard to come by on the road and when she could the alcohol made the nightmares more intense and, while she would never again be the property of any man, she couldn’t imagine bedding anyone just to keep the demons away; not with everything that had happened since the last case with Jack, their last case. The memory of their kiss, the safety she felt in his arms, Jack’s sweet romantic overture, all of those memories were how she eventually managed to keep her sanity in the sleepless nights and waking nightmares. 

It was with great relief and some trepidation that she sent Jack the telegram telling him she would be back soon. Yes, they had made their own kind of promise when she left, but it had been months, Jack could easily have returned to Concetta or fallen in with another woman or, worst of all, decided she wasn’t worth the trouble after all. 

“No use getting upset over that now,” she tried to mentally remind herself, “nothing you can do.”

For some reason, these reminders didn’t help. 

Finally back in Australia, she fueled up one last time. Despite her numerous worries about Jack she couldn’t help but smile as she got ready for bed. No matter the outcome of things with Jack she always had her little rag-tag family there for her and, she tried to convince herself, Jack would always be a part of that as a friend or a lover or a… partner. Whatever he was to her he would always be around for Jane and Hugh and Dot. 

She climbed into bed exhausted, but prepared for another sleepless night feeling hopeful that she would get a different kind of sleepless night soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The angst fest will soon be over, I promise! Soon some fluff (and maybe even smut?????? we shall see)
> 
> As always, thanks for your patience.


	5. Jack

With the help of, or more by the hand of, Mac, Jane, and Dot, Jack had Wardlow well prepared for Phryne’s grand return. Cases of champagne purchased, caviar (illegally, he was sure) acquired, music chosen, friends invited, all that was missing was the Lady herself. Jack had missed Phryne over the last couple of months, but he hadn’t felt her absence as acutely as he did while preparing her home for her return. He expected to meet her around a corner with a bottle of champagne in hand, reminding him of the time they had snuck champagne into a temperance household or waiting by the piano, ready to persuade him to play for her. But no, he knew she wouldn’t be there because he knew he was meant to pick her up from the airfield. He couldn’t stop checking the clock and he had the sense that Mac and maybe even Mrs. Collins had noticed. He saw them exchanging conspiratorial glances earlier and he thought he caught Mac smirking at him, but, then again, it had been her plan. Maybe she was just proud of her good planning.

Jack reached for her telegram in his pocket once more, feeling the softened paper, worn from a the time spent in his pockets, transferred gingerly from jacket to jacket, as if it would disappear if it wasn’t on his person. As if this would all disappear in a puff of smoke and none of it would be real anymore. Miss Fisher would waltz into his office tomorrow and they would begin their waltz of teasing and flirting, but never crossing the line. 

But no. He had the telegram. 

“Relax Jack,” Mac teased, “Clenching your jaw and glaring into the distance isn’t going to make her appear any faster.”

Directing his glare towards Mac, Jack forced himself to release his the tension in his shoulders and face. It was still early in the morning, she wouldn’t be getting back to Melbourne for many hours, but he couldn’t sit still any longer.

“I think I’ll go wait for Phryne,” Jack announced to the house at large.

“Oooh! Let me come with you!” Jane called out from the kitchen, but Dot quickly redirected Jane into another task, with a “Miss Phryne will just be so excited to see us all together at the house, Jane.” Jack heard Jane try to object and imagined Mac was giving her a look that kept her protests silent.

Glad that the women had diverted Jane, Jack rushed out to his car, unable to stop himself from rushing towards Phryne. “An object in motion stays in motion,” he muttered under his breath, laughing to himself. Miss Fisher had surely set him in motion; from the day she snuck into the Andrew’s bathroom she had started him on a path that now felt as inevitable as the Earth’s orbit around the sun. And maybe that’s what it was. Even apart, they influenced each other, pulled each other back. 

Jack heaved a sigh. Gods he was such a romantic. 

Without realizing how long he had been driving, Jack was pulling off to the little airstrip where he had kissed Phryne. Had it really been months since that? It felt like an eternity ago. It felt like yesterday.

He was still lost in thought when he caught the sound of an airplane approaching. He thought he was imagining it at first, it was much too early for her to be back, but, no, that tiny speck was growing larger and larger and he thought he could make out a waving Phryne. But, then again, maybe he was imagining that.

While it couldn’t have been long from the time Jack spotted the plane until the time it landed, he felt as if another two months passed waiting for it finally, finally be on the ground.

As soon as the airplane touched down Phryne was swinging out her legs out and jumping down, with all the elegance and grace that marked everything she did. With a great cry of joy, Phryne ran for him, much as she had the last time they had been here.

This time Jack felt no hesitancy. Grabbing her by the hips, he picked Phryne up as he kissed her with much less restraint than he had before, when her father had been watching. Phryne melted into the kiss, moving her hand to Jack’s hair, his face, as if she were trying to memorize his features. Jack understood the urge. He pulled back, slightly out of breath, to take a long look at her lovely visage.

She seemed to have gotten even more beautiful.

“Welcome home, Miss Fisher.”

“Why thank you Jack, but I don’t think you’re quite done welcoming me back,” she smirked, barely containing a gleeful grin as she pulled him back down to her to continue their kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid this might end up more angsty than folks want. I tried to stop it, I really did, but my own life tends to spill onto the page... I'm personally dealing with a lot of my own ghosts, so I'm not sure how soon an update is coming. Sorry for the inconsistency and thanks for sticking around :D


	6. Homecoming

“How did you get here so quickly?” Jack asked, out of breath from kissing Phryne. 

“Well, I knew I wasn’t really going to sleep, so I figured I might as well get an early start.” She knew she was grinning like a fool, but how could she not? He was here, he was holding her. After an ugly few months, she finally felt the anguish and trepidation ebbing away. “And I managed to surprise you, Jack, which makes it all worth it!” Phryne explained with a chuckle.

“Gods I missed you.” Jack muttered, reclaiming her lips. 

As they kissed Phryne’s hands began to wander down, first to Jack’s hips and then to palm the front of his trousers.

“Phryne!” Jack pulled back. Despite how much he wanted this, wanted her, they were in the middle of a field for Christ’s sake. 

“Yes, Jack?” Phryne asked as innocently as she could with her dilated pupils and ragged breath.

“Perhaps we should get you home… I am not the only one eagerly awaiting your return.”

Phryne pulled Jack in for other bone-melting kiss, pulled away, and skipped across the airfield back to her plane. “Are you going to help me roll this into the hangar or am I to do all on my own Inspector?” 

Recollecting himself, Jack hurried over to help Phryne move the plane. It was not an easy task, but the two of them managed it. After Phryne had extricated her bags she hopped out of the plane and set them down, opening up her bag and searching the for book she had acquired for Jack. She took her time, meaning to tease Jack, both with her leisurely pace and somewhat provocative pose when she felt his hands on her hips, pulling her upright and turning her around. 

“Hello, again,” Phryne said with a smirk. She pulled his head down to hers and sucked his bottom lip between hers before nipping in lightly. Jack groaned in response and ran his tongue along the line of her lips, which parted almost instantly to let him in. Excited by this crack in the perfectly noble Jack Robinson's façade, Phryne backed them up against the wall of the hangar and wrapped her leg around Jack’s waist, digging the heel of her Mary Jane into his well toned thigh. 

With a growl, Jack flipped them around, taking Phryne’s other leg around him and crushing her against the wall. She could feel him erect against her and almost climaxed right there from knowing how much he wanted her. Jack began to ravish Phryne’s delicate white neck and she stopped him.

“As much as I’d like this to happen, Jack, I’m afraid you said there are people waiting to see me. It might be a little obvious what we got up to if I return home with my neck covered in love bites.”

Lowering Phryne’s legs to the ground carefully, Jack flushed. He had let his body think for him and felt utterly abashed at his sophomoric behavior. 

“You don’t need to be embarrassed, darling.” She leaned in close, kissed his cheek, and ran her tongue over his earlobe and whispered, “Tonight you are more than welcome to ravish me however and wherever you want.”

At Phryne’s rather forward statement, the blood that didn’t rush to Jack Robinson’s face made a quick descent to his dick. 

After pressing a quick, chaste kiss to his lips, Phryne took off, frolicking through the field like a child.

A deep breath allowed Jack a bit more control over his body and he had to smile at the joy Phryne emanated and radiated. Picking up her sacks, Jack followed Phryne’s dancing figure back to his car with a smile on his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut to come... maybe. I'm not really good at planning. This is just mapped out vaguely in my brain :)


	7. To Wardlow

The drive back to Wardlow was dangerous, to say the least. While Jack was doing his best to keep his eyes on the road and his mind on driving, he couldn’t stop his eyes, and mind, from wandering. Of course, this was not helped by the fact that Phryne’s hand kept finding itself in Jack’s lap and her lips on his ears.

“Phryne…” Jack growled under his breath, a warning of sorts, “I would hate for you to have flown that damn plane to London and back for you and I to end in a flaming car wreck.” 

“Especially not before we sealed the deal, darling Jack!” 

Her hand was palming his cock again.

“Phryne, stop!” 

“If you insist.” Phryne threw herself back against her seat with all the melodrama of a toddler. Jack smiled. Gods how he had missed her, all of her, childish, dramatic flair included. Especially that, even.

The rest of the car ride went more smoothly, with Phryne recounting the light anecdotes from her trip. There were frustrating tales of her father and details about all the hansom men she had encountered, just to tease Jack, hoping she could keep the ghosts who had followed her from London, out of her voice and away. She knew it was a lost cause, but she hoped that Jack would not deduce as much, using all of her charms to keep him at bay. 

As she described all the incredible places she had been, the exquisite food she had tasted, and company she had kept, Jack heard something darker lurking underneath it all. Something about Phryne was different; she was definitely happy to be home, but when she spoke of her trip she sounded just a little hollow, haunted even. Jack was considering how he could help her, but was pulled from his reverie by the squeal of delight Miss Fisher emitted upon seeing her real family waiting for her outside of Wardlow. 

“My how marriage suits Dot,” Phryne thought, tearing up, “How well dear Jane looks grinning ear to ear and Mac, dear, sweet Mac, what would I do without her? She who knows all my ugly secrets and loves me for them.”

Phryne flew out of the car and into Mac’s arms, needing her steadiness, her guidance. 

“Glad you made it home!” Mac exclaimed eyeing her old friend up and down before pulling Phryne in for another hug and whispering, “Is everything alright, did something happen with Jack?”

“No, Mac, it’s just the past, it has a way of insinuating itself where it doesn’t belong. I’m alright.” Melancholy tinged Phryne’s voice, but she quickly pulled away, hugging Jane, Dot, Aunt P, Bert, Cec, a reluctant Mr. B (“It’s not proper, miss.” “To hell with proper, Mr. B!”), and all her other friends who had come to welcome her home.

The afternoon flowed into the evening with plenty of laughter and champagne. As evening moved into night, the guests slowly began to leave, pulling Phryne in for hugs and kisses and promises to dine together soon.

When the last guests had left and Dot had finally convinced Jane to go upstairs to bed, Phryne returned to her parlor to find Jack right where he belonged, leaning against the mantel. 

“Care to stay for a nightcap Jack?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof. It's been a rough month for me, but I'm glad I'm back to writing. This chapter didn't flow quite how I wanted, but I started this fic with the next chapter in mind (funny how it took 7 chapters to get there...). Angst and smut and angsty smut to come!


	8. Just a nightcap

Leaning against her mantle, Jack had to smirk, “Just a nightcap then, Miss Fisher?”

Having already prepared it, Phryne turned to offer Jack his tumbler of whiskey, “Are you accusing me of having other reasons to ask you to stay?” Phryne let out a small laugh, took a swig of her whiskey, and closed the gap between their bodies, taking Jack’s mouth in a searing kiss. She pulled back briefly, drawing in a ragged breath. "You're right." Their tongues mixed sloppily, a little too excited and nervous for much finesse, but Phryne felt she was getting drunk on Jack. She loved his lips on hers, his wandering hands, his teeth on her neck as they had been at the hangar. This time, though, she had no desire to stop him. Normally she would not let a lover leave visible marks; it always felt to her as if she was being claimed as property, something she would not stand for. With Jack, it was somehow different. “Let him mark me,” she thought, “let there be an external sign of how very much he has changed me.”

And why should she bother stopping him? Jack’s teeth and tongue felt good on her neck, as his hands found their way down to her breasts, Phryne let out a low moan. The time for contemplation was over and her lust overcame her. Grabbing Jack’s tie, Phryne pulled him, backing up to the chaise while attempting to divest him of his many layers. She managed to loosen his tie, undo half his buttons, and ruck up his undershirt before she became thoroughly exasperated. 

“Jack, as much as, ooh that feels good, I like your suits, ...yes, darling, right there, there are far too many pieces!” She finished with a gasp as Jack bit her nipple through her dress. Giving up on undressing him, Phryne’s wrapped her hands around Jack to grab his beautiful ass. Recapturing his mouth, she pressed herself flush against him, feeling him erect against her for the second time since she had returned home. "Something I could certainly get used to," she thought. Dying to finally touch him, Phryne made quick work of Jack’s trousers and undershorts. Jack thrust involuntarily and moaned deeply when she wrapped her hand around him. 

“Perhaps, Miss Fisher,” Jack breathed in sharply as Phryne lowered herself to kiss the head of his penis. “Perhaps we shouldn’t do.. this... here…?” 

Chuckling at his concern and growing distraction, Phryne took as much of Jack as she could into her mouth all at once, stroking the rest of him with her hand. Relaxing her throat she began to bob her head over Jack’s rather substantial length, running her tongue along the underside, while massaging his balls with her other hand.

“FUCK PHRYNE YES!” Jack shouted before considering the other inhabitants of the house. Pulling her up to standing, Phryne saw the look of sheer panic in Jack’s eyes. 

“Fear not, darling. Jane sleeps like a log and Mr. Butler and Dot are quite discreet and used to my… nighttime guests. I imagine they do their best not to listen.”

With a heavy sign Jack’s shocked expression began to relax and Phryne began chuckling. Jack joined in. The situation was so utterly absurd; commonplace, yet so novel and unheard of. Jack pulled Phryne into a hug as they continued laughing. The vibrations of their bodies against drew a soft sigh of pleasure from Phryne’s lips as Jack brought his down to capture them. As their kiss deepened, Jack’s hands found the fastenings of Phryne’s dress, undoing them with surprising dexterity, given his shaking hands.  
Her elegant gown fluttered to the floor. Phryne stepped out of her dress and pulled back to look Jack in the eyes, seeing lust, yes, but love and friendship and home. 

“Are you sure, Jack?” Phryne asked gently, baring her soul. It would hurt if he said no, but it would hurt more if this wasn’t right for him. It had to be something that wouldn’t hurt him. It had to be what they both wanted, wholeheartedly.

It had to be perfect. 

She had spent endless hours in London and in transit thinking about this, about them. She knew she was scared to let it happen for real, scared that she would hurt Jack, but, more than anything, scared that she would let him and let herself get hurt again. For the first time in a long time she saw a future for them, as lovers, partners, and friends. And she was terrified.  
 


	9. At Last

“Are you sure Jack?” He felt her tremble slightly. Jack looked deep into Phryne’s eyes and found himself surprised, but reassured by what he found there. There was desire there, yes, but layered beneath that was a nervousness he rarely saw in her. Something about what he found in her eyes made Jack sure of his choice, right here, right now. It was true that neither of them knew what the future held, nor would finding a balance between them be easy, but this, here with Phryne, was right.

Jack leaned in, kissing her gently. “Yes, Phryne, of course yes,” he murmured against her neck.

“My lovely, stoic Jack,” Phryne purred with a bit of a giggle, “always so very serious, no matter the situation,” she gestured to indicate their current, less than formal position. 

With a smirk, Jack scooped Phryne up over his shoulder and she screeched in delight. In complete disregard of his own state of undress and hers, Jack walked from the parlor into the foyer and began to stumble his way up the stairs as Phryne began to massage his buttocks.

“Phryne…” he growled, “if you don’t want your staff to find us in a rather compromising position on your front staircase, I suggest you allow me to carry you to your boudoir.” A heavy sigh, unseen eye roll, and playful slap of Jack’s behind were Phryne’s form of acquiescence. 

At the top of the stairs the lightness Jack had found began to ebb away and the weight of the situation became real to him. As he lowered Phryne to her feet their eyes met and all of a sudden they were in a vacuum in time and space. No outside noise, no other people, no passage of time. Just Phryne and Jack.

Taking him by the hand, Phryne led Jack into her room. Once inside, Phryne gently closed the door and turned to face Jack, who stood staring at her, his look of incredulity matching how she felt. With slow steps, she closed the gap between them, gently unbuttoning his waistcoat, removing his braces, tie, shirt, and undershirt. Something about the simplicity of her actions warmed Jack to the core. He pulled Phryne against him, nuzzling her hair.

“Perfect,” she whispered against his chest, “just perfect.”

Jack pulled back and tilted Phryne’s head up, hoping she would see the love he would not express in words. He knew Phryne, respected her limits and her values, knew that a declaration of love would just spoil what they had. Not now. Maybe someday, but not now. 

“All days are nights to see till I see thee, and nights bright days when dreams do show thee me.”

“Oh, Jack.”

His hands gently wove around her body, removing her brazier. With tender fingers shaking with anticipation, Jack lowered her knickers to the ground and he began to kiss a path back to her center. Watching him, Phryne felt as if she were floating somewhere both separate from and intensely present in her body. She thought herself a connoisseur of physical pleasures, but this bliss was not one she was familiar with. It was warm and unhurried, pleasant and wonderful and exciting without any edge. The word for it was somewhere in her mind, finding its way to the top when Jack nipped her inner thigh and moved to place her leg over his shoulder.

“As pleasant as that is, I think it is time for us to know each other, biblically,” she gave a halfhearted wiggle of eyebrows. “I have waited for to long for this and have no desire to wait a moment longer.” 

Rising to standing, Jack kissed Phryne deeply, devouring her mouth, trying to memorize her taste. “I believe I have waited even longer than you Miss Fisher and for once, we are in agreement. Let’s not differ this any longer.” Jack took in a deep breathe, preparing, she assumed, for a speech about how long he has desired her, chased her, been enamored with her, but she silenced him with a kiss. She figured she knew it all and if she didn’t there would be time for proper romantic overtures later. Jack, as usual, understood Phryne without words and began to back them up towards her bed. 

Settled on the bed, Phryne had managed to position herself on top, not that Jack was surprised. He hissed as she pumped his cock a few times before positioning it at her opening.

Using what was left of his brainpower, Jack put his hand on Phryne’s shoulder to pause her. “Family planning?” he asked.

With a light chuckle, Phryne nodded as she took Jack inside of her. She lowered herself slowly, enjoying the feeling of him stretching her, of her body welcoming him as she welcomed him into her life and home. Once she was fully seated on him, Phryne leaned in close and pressed a chaste kiss to Jack’s lips. Pulling her head back, Phryne looked deeply into Jack’s eyes as she began to undulate her hips. The string of expletives this drew from Jack set Phryne in a frenzy. Despite her intentions to take things slow and draw out this experience, it was all too erotic and, besides, she never one for self-control in the bedroom.

As she sped up, Jack took Phryne’s bouncing breasts into his hands. Sucking one nipple into his mouth, Jack moved his free hand down to find Phryne’s clitoris. It was clear that neither of them was going to last long, what with the hours, and really years, of flirting and foreplay. They climaxed simultaneously, Jack shouting Phryne’s name with abandon as she moaned Jack’s into his neck. 

After catching his breathe and reassuring himself that, no, this wasn’t another dream, Jack pulled Phryne into his arms kissing her eyelids, her cheeks, and the tip of her nose.

As they fell asleep, entwined in each other’s arms Phryne noticed Jack drawing slow patterns on her skin and she smiled at the simple, soothing caress. 

As Phryne fell asleep in his arms, Jack doodled on Phryne’s ivory skin, the same message over and over, “I love you.” 

It was enough.  
It was everything.  
It was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of things:  
> 1) I'm so sorry this chapter took forever TT . TT Finals and travel got in the way of any fic-based productivity in December!  
> 2) The scene, which originally inspired this story, was supposed to go here, but I ended up not being satisfied with it. I might post it as a separate fic because it was going to take three or four more chapters to finish the story on that trajectory.  
> 3) The smut just didn't really happen. I'm so sorry. I just rewatched 3x08 and was really feeling the sweetness. Forgive me.  
> 4) OMG THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME FOR THE 9 CHAPTER, NOT-VERY-MANY-WORD FIC THAT TOOK ME THREE MONTHS TO WRITE. I LOVE YOU ALL <3


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